Services

About The Owner

History

Hello, I am Charles Hanna and I would like to share with you some of my background in construction, home improvement and investment options that have entitled me to become a home consultant. It is what I am passionate about, and like many people, I love my home.

It started a long time ago, when I was quite young. My father, out of necessity was a die-hard, do it your selfer (long before the term became commonplace). He laid the foundation of work ethic, working with and caring for his tools, and the material things he had to work so hard to obtain. Caring for our home in a family of eight was an endless process. Some of the duties included painting, cleaning, repairing, modifying and maintaining every facet of our home and property. Often I found that I would rather be working on a new project around our home, with my father, than out playing.

Our neighbor ran the local hardware store and when he saw my devotion to work, he asked if I would be interested in mowing lawns, for some of his customers (mostly widows). This developed into a business, before I was old enough to drive. I was mowing, landscaping, making small home repairs, painting, billing, keeping books and collecting cash or checks. When I turned 17 and was able to drive, the business got serious and I had employed all my friends (who enjoyed the pay, but had no stamina for work).

During high school, a local tree service company and the superintendent of the road department recruited me. These part time positions added to the experience and skills that were developing. In high school, I aced 3 years of woodworking and created award-winning furniture.

I began work with New Jersey Bell, as an apprentice installer, union IBEW local 827 in 1970. On the job, I was surrounded by carpenters, plumbers, masons, electricians and was offered night and weekend work, as an assistant. I took some night classes in Boces and Bergen Technical School and my skills were honed.

While doing telephone installation in homes, I would sometimes spot some old furniture and I would inquire about its history. At the time, I had no idea how much history and emotion a piece furniture could hold. The customers would tell me the whole story. I would then offer to re-finish the piece, for a modest fee. Some of my clients were a little leery but when I returned the piece to them, some weeks later, I was heaped with praise… cash bonuses, and sometimes invited for dinner.

My First Home

In 1975, my wife and I purchased our first home. My wife pleaded tearfully with me, not to purchase the house that had showed so much misuse and abuse, by the teenage residents living under a state run housing program. From the street, the obvious signs of hanging gutters and overgrown shrubs, only hinted at what was inside.

Upon entering, the five-bedroom ranch, the odor was the first noticeable offence. The rooms were dark, the floors covered by what my wife described as wall-to-wall tumble weed dirt balls, in what appeared to be a dark green shag carpet. Windows were broken, walls and doors had holes punched in them and the kitchen was well…not good.

We had been aggressively house shopping for months. We had put bids on three previous houses that had been on the market for some time and for whatever reason, we had lost each. I was furious. I went out to search for a new realtor (a shark) and stated that when I find the house I wanted, I would not leave the premise, until we had a written agreement. She sympathized and agreed.

We were sitting in the realtor’s car, after we had toured this house and I was telling the realtor, this is the house I wanted, and was ready to sign. However, my wife was having different ideas. I looked at her in total disbelief. She pleaded for me to think about it. She described what we had just seen in the house and I described what I had seen. It was as if we had looked at two completely different houses.

I saw past the dirt, past the fifthly shag carpet and the broken windows and doors. I saw potential. I saw a house that needed to be cleaned and trimmed and needed my TLC. It needed the same work; I had done for years for my dad and my customers since I was a kid. I saw much more house than we could otherwise afford. I was immediately able to spot that the builder had done an excellent job and the solid structure, lay just beneath a disguising layer of grime, misuse and inattention.

Well, we bought that house and over the next few years, I worked every night, weekends and holidays gutting, changing, adding and making that house very desirable. Then new opportunities became available at our jobs with New Jersey Bell and we decided to move. We put our home on the market and sold it in three days for an incredible profit.

I had proven my abilities to my wife and over the next ten years, we had gone on to purchase four more homes, (without the tears) did the improvements and remodeling and sold each profitably. In addition, I designed and constructed my current custom home in Millstone.

Often I would be picking up supplies from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Channels, Sears tool department or the landscape supply company and their customers would ask me for assistance. I would offer my advice, but when the conversation started to cut into my productivity, and a line of inquisitive customers would develop, I would politely say I’m sorry, but I don’t work here. More than a few said you should work here! Store managers would ask me for advice and some offered a position.

My Experience Led Me To Open My Own Company

My wife and I were both promoted to management with New Jersey Bell and after eight years, I felt my energy, creativity and ability was under constant restraint and decided I needed work that is more challenging. In 1989, I founded Hanna’s Tool & Party Rental, Inc.

The business relied heavily on the ability to understand construction materials, construction methods, the tools required for construction and most importantly the application of the right tool for each job.

Almost every day, customers (both homeowners and contractors) would have questions or difficulties determining how to handle a particular construction or repair project. By asking a few questions and discussing the project with them, I could often guide my customers on the proper procedures and tools to use, to get their job done safely, correctly and cost effectively. However, when I was presented with a project that was not clear in the presentation or of a particularly complex nature, I was often requested to come out to the site and give my advice as how to proceed.

Once on the job site, my customers would request I supervise their operations, assist in their projects or complete their projects. These continual request developed into another business (Contractors Services). This business operated from 1994 thru 2004, until I realized that I could no longer work in excess of 90 hours per week. After much persuasion from my wife, I sold the rental business in 2006 and retired.

Summary

Through years of experience in landscape, electrical, construction and home remodeling, each of my home investments returned a substantial profit. My experience did not come easy. Most of my working career involved working sixty hours or more a week. On several of my home rehab projects, I would be loading dumpsters on Thanksgiving Day or ripping out a bathroom on July 4 weekend. For more than a year, after working a full day, I would come home to lay brick until 9 pm and 12 hours per day on weekends. There were plenty of sacrifices.

Most people work a forty-hour workweek, go home to be with family and play sports, travel or relax on weekends, where as, I preferred to work. I have always enjoyed work and the results that my efforts have presented. I had come to the realization that I was not working. What I was doing, I did for fun, and it was my passion.

I have taken some well-deserved time off and thought about what to do next. I want to be creative and have many ideas but I can no longer handle the physical demands or long hours of construction. I realized I could offer my experience and advice by becoming an advocate of the homeowner, especially those looking to be homeowners. I have become engrossed in the technical study of home construction and obtained credentials and licensing required by New Jersey to perform home inspections and have declared myself a home consultant. I have much to offer about what keeps a home in top working and financial condition. In addition, my new education is now taking me to the cutting edge of technology for alternate home heating and power systems.

I work alone, from my home, no employees. I report directly to my clients, and normally have only one or two at any given time. My home inspections go well beyond the standards set by the any of home inspection associations and are all-inclusive. Consulting can be anything you wish to talk about concerning your home and your investment. Technical issues that I may not be completely familiar with may be researched by me with little or no cost to you.